The foundation of decentralized application ecosystem is Layer-1 (L1) protocols. Ethereum network dominates the landscape in terms both of total value locked (TVL) and number of protocols launched. Fantom and BNB Chain follow.
Many L1 protocols are outperforming the field, making gains despite the weakness in the wider crypto market.
Let’s take a look at three L1 protocol that are experiencing growth in their Decentralized Finance (DeFi) communities, and an influx TVL on their networks.
Waves
Waves is a multipurpose blockchain protocol. It was launched in 2016 but has undergone many transformations to become Waves 2.0.
Waves has seen a tremendous increase in its ecosystem over the past month. The protocol’s TVL increased from $700.95million on February 4 to a record high of $2.77billion on March 18, according data from DefiLlama.
Waves total value Source: Defi Llama
The network’s increase in TVL has been largely attributed to gains from the algorithmic price stable “assetization protocol Neutrino”, which creates stablecoins linked to real-world assets and cryptocurrencies, and the non-custody liquidity protocol Vires Finance.
Total value locked statistics for Neutrino and Vires Finance. Source: Defi Llama
The price of Waves rose 278% between February 4 and March 15 from $8.17 to $31.04, indicating that Waves has been attracting more people.
Oasis
Oasis, a privacy-enabled L1 Blockchain network, focuses on providing high throughput and low transaction costs in a secure way.
Oasis’ network was able to get off to a fast start in terms TVL when its first decentralized market, YuzuSwap launched in January. quickly amassed more that $160 million in liquidity. The TVL fell to $65.18 million in February.
Total value locked on Oasis. Source: Defi Llama
Oasis’ TVL rose to $194.92million after an initial period of volatility. This was largely due to the ValleySwap automated marketplace maker protocol. It has seen its TVL rise to $125.5million in March.
Related: How traders were alerted last week to big rallies by FUN’s and WAVES’
Cosmos ecosystem chains
Cosmos and its Interblockchain Communication Protocol are another chain that has a significant impact on DeFi. Cosmos’ TVL can be understated as many data providers don’t track the chains within the Cosmos ecosystem the same way that they track Ethereum.
The Cosmos ecosystem chains Terra, Cronos, and THORChain have seen some of the biggest TVL gains over the last month.
stated in a previous Altcoin Roundup that a large portion of Terra’s growth has been due to inflows to Anchor protocol. This protocol is responsible for minting TerraUSD (UST).
These inflows have boosted Anchor’s TVL from $13.57 billion to 54.58%, which has also boosted Terra TVL to $26.34 trillion on March 10.
Total value locked on Terra. Source: Defi Llama
Cronos is a Blockchain network that emerged from the Crypto.com ecosystem. It was created in November 2021 when the project was rebranded. Cronos was created as a result of the rebranding of Crypto.com’s CO token.
The Cronos network has seen 48 protocols launch on-chain and cross-chain integrations since its inception. This has pushed the network’s TVL up to $3.19 Billion on March 18.
Total value locked on Cronos. Source: Defi Llama
Cronos’ TVL surge occurred in a period when the value of CRO fell 32%, from $0.54 on February 10 to $0.372 March 15. This suggests that the ecosystem gained value from new assets moving to or launching on-chain.
VVS Finance was previously reported on Cronos as the main DeFi protocol, but its TVL has fallen by 4.78% in the past month. Instead, Cronos’ TVL has been increasing due to MM Finance, Tectonic, and MM Optimizer.
Top 4 protocols by TVL on Cronos. Source: Defi Llama
The Cosmos ecosystem’s final shoutout goes to THORChain. This decentralized liquidity protocol focuses on interoperability across all chains.
THORChain activity has increased due to a variety of factors, including ‘s recently added support for “synthetic asset”, and its upcoming mainnet release. THORChain’s TVL climbed from $167 million up to $267.65 millions between March 1-16.
These three protocols have a combined total value of $30.25 billion. Osmosis is the top Cosmos-based, decentralized exchange. Cosmos is now second in blockchain networks by TVL, behind Ethereum.
You would like to learn more about investing and trading in the crypto markets?
These views and opinions are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.com. You should do your research before making any investment or trading decision.
